{"id":540393,"date":"2026-04-04T14:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T14:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/540393\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T14:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T14:52:18","slug":"oilers-coach-gives-update-on-leon-draisaitls-return-timeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/540393\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers Coach Gives Update on Leon Draisaitl’s Return Timeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edmonton Oilers<\/a> head coach Kris Knoblauch has offered a timely update on Leon Draisaitl<\/a> as the team prepares for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n

The German forward remains sidelined with a lower-body injury, but optimism is building around his return window.<\/p>\n

Speaking with Jim Rome on his show, Knoblauch admitted there is no replacing Draisaitl\u2019s production.<\/p>\n

“You’re absolutely not gonna find somebody to replace him, but hopefully you get everyone stepping up their game a little bit, which has helped our game a lot,” Knoblauch said. “One of the things that we talked about throughout the season was getting a better team defensively.<\/p>\n

“We weren’t having trouble scoring goals. With Connor McDavid<\/a> and Leon Draisaitl on the ice for most of the game, you know, generating offense isn’t that hard. But we need to play better defensively.”<\/p>\n

\"Edmonton<\/p>\n

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) talks with Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) at Capital One Arena.Geoff Burke-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Knoblauch stressed that the team\u2019s response without its star has been encouraging. Players have adjusted their roles, focusing more on defensive structure rather than relying only on offense.<\/p>\n

“And when you’re missing a star player, you know, he was top five in the NHL<\/a> scoring at the time, we knew that we had to limit the amount of chances we gave up,” Knoblauch said. “And guys have really stepped up, and that’s been a big reason why we’re on the streak that we are right now.”<\/p>\n

Draisaitl suffered the injury on March 15 against Nashville and later received treatment in Germany. Reports confirmed a second-degree MCL issue, forcing him onto long-term injured reserve. Despite that setback, he remains eligible for activation around April 11, just days before the playoffs begin.<\/p>\n

Knoblauch said the target has always been a return near the end of the regular season. The Oilers are hopeful he will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

“We are hoping,” Knoblauch said. “The timeline was \u2013 end of the regular season, and hopefully, we can get him at the start of the playoffs. And we’ve still got a couple of weeks before that, but it’s \u2013 we’re certainly hoping that he’s ready.”<\/p>\n

With a couple of weeks still available, the team is giving him time to fully recover.<\/p>\n

At the time of injury, Draisaitl ranked among the league\u2019s top scorers with 97 points in 65 games. His absence tested Edmonton, but the team responded with improved defensive play and a five-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

Led by Connor McDavid, the Oilers continue to produce offensively, while recent goaltending form has added balance. The team now sits near the top of the Pacific Division standings.<\/p>\n

If Draisaitl returns on schedule, Edmonton will enter the playoffs close to full strength, boosting its chances significantly.<\/p>\n

Related: Avalanche Coach Shares Update on Cale Makar’s Injury<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Avalanche Coach Warns His Team After 8-6 Loss to Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Apr 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the NHL<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has offered a timely update on Leon Draisaitl as the team prepares…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5115],"tags":[521,37,96,5263,155,146,5,15522,2854,370,2409,4,104],"class_list":{"0":"post-540393","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-blackhawks","8":"tag-blackhawks","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","11":"tag-chicagoblackhawks","12":"tag-connor-mcdavid","13":"tag-edmonton-oilers","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-jim-rome","16":"tag-kris-knoblauch","17":"tag-leon-draisaitl","18":"tag-nashville","19":"tag-nhl","20":"tag-stanley-cup-playoffs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116347008882623566","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}